' 


THE   CANDY  COUNTRY 


BY 


LOUISA  M.  ALCOTT 


•• 


AUTHOR  OF  "LITTLE  WOMEN,"  "LITTLE  MEN,"  "AX  OLI> 

FASHIONED   GIRL,"    "AUNT   JO'S    SCRAP-BAG," 
"LULU'S   LIBRARY,"    ETC. 


LEBRIS— 

AURORA  ESME*ALDA 
HISTORIAN  OF  UTERARY  C 

CONFeRRBD  8V  CAUFORNIA 
LEGISLATURE,  APRILI919 
SAN  PRAWC18CO,  CAUPORNU 


Ullustraterj 


BCXDK  ORiNGRIUM 

Ik*  In  tfc«  •iettenary.  but  at 

F«JT  F^more 


BOSTON 
LITTLE,  BROWN,  AND   COMPANY 


Copyright,  1885, 
BY  LOUISA  M.  ALCOTT 

Copyright,  WOO, 
BY  JOHN  S.  P.  ALCOTT 


JOHN  WILSON  AND  SON,  CAMBRIDGE,  U.S.A. 


"  Hollo,  what  do  you  want?  "  he  asked,  staring  at  her. 
PAGE  10. 


THE  CANDY    COUNTEY 

"  I  SHALL  take  marama'.g;  ted/sun-i^n}brella,  it 
is  so  warm,  and  none  of  'tlie^  children. at  .school 
will  have  one  like  i$"  £hi^  piSyjVjfife^de,^,  tts  she 
went  through  the  hall. 

u  The  wind  is  very  high  ;  I  'm  afraid  you  '11 
be  blown  away  if  you  carry  that  big  thing," 
called  Nurse  from  the  window,  as  the  red  um- 
i 


QOOOUQ 


THE   CANDY  COUNTRY 


brella  went  bobbing  down  the  garden  walk  with 
a  small  girl  under  it. 

"  I  wish  it  would ;  I  always  wanted  to  go  up 
in  a  balloon,"  answered  Lily,  as  she  struggled 
out  of  the  gate. 

She  got  on  very  well  till  she  came  to  the 
bridge  and  stopped  to  look  over  the  railing  at 
the  water  running  by  so  fast,  and  the  turtles 
sunning  themseh^es  on  the  rocks.  Lily  was 
fond  of  throwing  stones  at  them ;  it  was  so 
funny  to  watch  them  tumble,  heels  over  head, 
splash  into  the  water.  Now,  when  she  saw 
three  big  fellows  close  by,  she  stooped  for  a 
stone,  and  just  at  that  minute  a  gale  of  wind 
nearly  took  the  umbrella  out  of  her  hand.  She 
clutched  it  fast ;  and  away  she  went  like  a 
thistle-down,  right  up  in  the  air,  over  river  and 
hill,  houses  and  trees,  faster  and  faster,  till  her 
head  spun  round,  her  breath  was  all  gone,  and 
she  had  to  let  go.  The  dear  red  umbrella  flew 
away  like  ,'a  leaf-^/anxkljaly  fell  down,  down,  till 
she  -went  .crash  into  a  tree  which  grew  in  such  a 
curious- 'p2a&3v  thai  : she /i'or^ot  her  fright  as  she 
sat  looking  about  her,  wondering  what  part  of 
the  world  it  could  be. 

The  tree  looked  as  if  made  of  glass  or  colored 
sugar ;  for  she  could  see  through  the  red  cher- 


THE   CANDY  COUNTRY  3 

ries,  the  green  leaves,  and  the  brown  branches. 
An  agreeable  smell  met  her  nose ;  and  she  said 
at  once,  as  any  child  would,  "  I  smell  candy  ! " 
She  picked  a  cherry  and  ate  it.  Oh,  how  good 
it  was!  —  all  sugar  and  no  stone.  The  next  dis 
covery  was  such  a  delightful  one  that  she  nearly 
fell  off  her  perch ;  for  by  touching  her  tongue 
here  and  there,  she  found  that  the  whole  tree 
was  made  of  candy.  Think  what  fun  to  sit  and 
break  off  twigs  of  barley  sugar,  candied  cherries, 
and  leaves  that  tasted  like  peppermint  and 
sassafras ! 

Lily  rocked  and  ate  till  she  finished  the  top 
of  the  little  tree ;  then  she  climbed  down  and 
strolled  along,  making  more  surprising  and 
agreeable  discoveries  as  she  went. 

What  looked  like  snow  under  her  feet  was 
white  sugar  ;  the  rocks  were  lumps  of  chocolate, 
the  flowers  of  all  colors  and  tastes ;  and  every 
sort  of  fruit  grew  on  these  delightful  trees. 
Little  white  houses  soon  appeared ;  and  here 
lived  the  dainty  candy-people,  all  made  of  the 
best  sugar,  and  painted  to  look  like  real  people. 
Dear  little  men  and  women,  looking  as  if  they 
had  stepped  off  of  wedding  cakes  and  bonbons, 
went  about  in  their  gay  sugar  clothes,  laughing 
and  talking  in  the  sweetest  voices.  Bits  of 


THE    CANDY  COUNTRY 


babies  rocked  in  open-work  cradles,  and  sugar 
boys  and  girls  played  with  sugar  toys  in  the 
most  natural  way.  Carriages  rolled  along  the 
jujube  streets,  drawn  by  the  red  and  yellow 
barley  horses  we  all  love  so  well ;  cows  fed 
in  the  green  fields,  and  sugar  birds  sang  in  the 
trees. 

Lily  listened,  and  in  a  moment  she  under 
stood  what  the  song  said, — 

"  Sweet !  Sweet ! 
Come,  come  and  eat, 
Dear  little  girls 
With  yellow  curls  ; 
For  here  you  '11  find 
Sweets  to  your  mind. 
On  every  tree 
Sugar-plums  you  '11  see ; 
In  every  dell 
Grows  the  caramel. 
Over  every  wall 
Gum -drops  fall ; 
Molasses  flows 
Where  our  river  goes. 
Under  your  feet 
Lies  sugar  sweet ; 
Over  your  head 
Grow  almonds  red. 
Our  lily  and  rose 
Are  not  for  the  nose  ; 
Our  flowers  we  pluck 
To  eat  or  suck. 


THE   CANDY  COUNTRY 


And,  oh  !  what  bliss 
When  two  friends  kiss, 
For  they  honey  sip 
From  lip  to  lip  ! 
And  all  you  meet, 
In  house  or  street, 
At  work  or  play, 
Sweethearts  are  they. 
So,  little  dear, 
Pray  feel  no  fear  ; 
Go  where  you  will; 
Eat,  eat  your  fill. 
Here  is  a  feast 
From  west  to  east ; 
And  you  can  say, 
Ere  you  go  away, 
« At  last  I  stand 
In  dear  Candy-land, 
And  no  more  can  stuff; 
For  once  I  Ve  enough.' 
Sweet !  Sweet ! 
Tweet!  Tweet! 
Tweedle-dee ! 
Tweedle-dee ! " 

"  That  is  the  most  interesting  song  I  ever 
heard,"  said  Lily,  clapping  her  sticky  hands 
and  dancing  along  toward  a  fine  palace  of  white 
cream  candy,  with  pillars  of  striped  pepper 
mint  stick,  and  a  roof  of  frosting  that  made 
it  look  like  the  Milan  Cathedral. 

"  I  '11  live  here,  and  eat  candy  all  day  long, 


6  THE   CANDY  COUNTRY 

with  no  tiresome  school  or  patchwork  to  spoil 
my  fun,"  said  Lily. 

So  she  ran  up  the  chocolate  steps  into  the 
pretty  rooms,  where  all  the  chairs  and  tables 
were  of  different  colored  candies,  and  the  beds 
of  spun  sugar.  A  fountain  of  lemonade  sup 
plied  drink ;  and  floors  of  ice-cream  that  never 
melted  kept  people  and  things  from  sticking 
together,  as  they  would  have  done  had  it  been 
warm. 

For  a  long  while  Lily  was  quite  happy,  go 
ing  about  tasting  so  many  different  kinds  of 
sweeties,  talking  to  the  little  people,  who  were 
very  amiable,  and  finding  out  curious  things 
about  them  and  their  country. 

The  babies  were  made  of  plain  sugar,  but  the 
grown  people  had  different  flavors.  The  young 
ladies  were  flavored  with  violet,  rose,  and 
orange ;  the  gentlemen  were  apt  to  have  cor 
dials  of  some  sort  inside  of  them,  as  she  found 
when  she  ate  one  now  and  then  slyly,  and  got 
her  tongue  bitten  by  the  hot,  strong  taste  as  a 
punishment.  The  old  people  tasted  of  pepper 
mint,  clove,  and  such  comfortable  things,  good 
for  pain ;  but  the  old  maids  had  lemon,  hoar- 
hound,  flag-root,  and  all  sorts  of  sour,  bitter 
things  in  them,  and  did  not  get  eaten  much, 


THE   CANDY  COUNTRY 


Lily  soon  learned  to  know  the  characters  of 
her  new  friends  by  a  single  taste,  and  some  she 
never  touched  but  once.  The  dear  babies 
melted  in  her  mouth,  and  the  delicately  flavored 
young  ladies  she  was  very  fond  of.  Dr.  Ginger 
was  called  to  her  more  than  once  when  so 
much  candy  made  her  teeth  ache,  and  she 
found  him  a  very  hot-tempered  little  man  ;  but 
he  stopped  the  pain,  so  she  was  glad  to  see 
him. 

A  lime-drop  boy  and  a  little  pink  checker- 
berry  girl  were  her  favorite  playmates  ;  and  they 
had  fine  times  making  mud-pies  by  scraping 
the  chocolate  rocks  and  mixing  this  dust  with 
honey  from  the  wells  near  by.  These  they 
could  eat ;  and  Lily  thought  this  much  better 
than  throwing  away  the  pies,  as  she*  had  to  do 
at  home.  They  had  candy-pulls  very  often, 
and  made  swings  of  long  loops  of  molasses 
candy,  and  bird's-nests  with  almond  eggs,  out 
of  which  came  birds  who  sang  sweetly.  They 
played  foot-ball  with  big  bull's-eyes,  sailed  in 
sugar  boats  on  lakes  of  syrup,  fished  in  rivers 
of  molasses,  and  rode  the  barley  horses  all  over 
the  country. 

Lily  discovered  that  it  never  rained,  but 
snowed  white  sugar.  There  was  no  sun,  as  it 


8  THE   CANDY  COUNTRY 

would  have  been  too  hot ;  but  a  large  yellow 
lozenge  made  a  nice  moon,  and  red  and  white 
comfits  were  the  stars. 

The  people  all  lived  on  sugar,  and  never 
quarrelled.  No  one  was  ill ;  and  if  any  got 
broken,  as  sometimes  happened  with  such  brittle 
creatures,  they  just  stuck  the  parts  together  and 
were  all  right  again.  The  way  they  grew  old 
was  to  get  thinner  and  thinner  till  there  was 
danger  of  their  vanishing.  Then  the  friends  of 
the  old  person  put  him  in  a  neat  coffin,  and 
carried  him  to  the  great  golden  urn  which 
stood  in  their  largest  temple,  always  full  of  a 
certain  fine  syrup  ;  and  here  he  was  dipped  and 
dipped  till  he  was  stout  and  strong  again,  and 
went  home  to  enjoy  himself  for  a  long  time  as 
good  as  new. 

This  was  very  interesting  to  Lily,  and  she 
went  to  many  funerals.  But  the  weddings 
were  better  still ;  for  the  lovely  white  brides 
were  so  sweet  Lily  longed  to  eat  them.  The 
feasts  were  delicious  ;  and  everybody  went  in 
their  best  clothes,  and  danced  at  the  ball  till 
they  got  so  warm  half-a-dozen  would  stick 
together  and  have  to  be  taken  to  the  ice-cream 
room  to  cool  off.  Then  the  little  pair  would 
drive  away  in  a  fine  carriage  with  white  horses 


THE    CANDY  COUNTRY  9 

to  a  new  palace  in  some  other  part  of  the 
country,  and  Lily  would  have  another  pleasant 
place  to  visit. 

But  by  and  by,  when  she  had  seen  everything, 
and  eaten  so  much  sweet  stuff  that  at  last  she 
longed  for  plain  bread  and  butter,  she  began  to 
get  cross,  as  children  always  do  when  they  live 
on  candy ;  and  the  little  people  wished  she 
would  go  away,  for  they  were  afraid  of  her.  No 
wonder,  when  she  would  catch  up  a  dear  sugar 
baby  and  eat  him,  or  break  some  respectable  old 
grandmamma  all  into  bits  because  she  reproved 
her  for  naughty  ways.  Lily  calmly  sat  down  on 
the  biggest  church,  crushing  it  flat,  and  even 
tried  to  poke  the  moon  out  of  the  sky  in  a  pet 
one  day.  The  king  ordered  her  to  go  home  ; 
but  she  said,  "  I  won't ! "  and'  bit  his  head  off, 
crown  and  all. 

Such  a  wail  went  up  at  this  awful  deed  that 
she  ran  away  out  of  the  city,  fearing  some  one 
would  put  poison  in  her  candy,  since  she  had 
no  other  food. 

"  I  suppose  I  shall  get  somewhere  if  I  keep 
walking ;  and  I  can't  starve,  though  I  hate  the 
sight  of  this  horrid  stuff,"  she  said  to  herself, 
as  she  hurried  over  the  mountains  of  Gibraltar 
Rock  that  divided  the  city  of  Saccharissa  from 


10  THE   CANDY  COUNTRY 

the  great  desert  of  brown  sugar  that  lay  be 
yond. 

Lily  marched  bravely  on  for  a  long  time,  and 
saw  at  last  a  great  smoke  in  the  sky,  smelt  a 
spicy  smell,  and  felt  a  hot  wind  blowing  toward 
her. 

"  I  wonder  if  there  are  sugar  savages  here, 
roasting  and  eating  some  poor  traveller  like 
me,"  she  said,  thinking  of  Robinson  Crusoe  and 
other  wanderers  in  strange  lands. 

She  crept  carefully  along  till  she  saw  a  set 
tlement  of  little  huts  very  like  mushrooms,  for 
they  were  made  of  cookies  set  on  lumps  of  the 
brown  sugar;  and  queer  people,  Booking  as  if 
made  of  gingerbread,  were  working  very  busily 
round  several  stoves  which  seemed  to  bake  at  a 
great  rate. 

"  I  '11  creep  nearer  and  see  what  sort  of  peo 
ple  they  are  before  I  show  myself,"  said  Lily, 
going  into  a  grove  of  spice-trees,  and  sitting 
down  on  a  stone  which  proved  to  be  the  plummy 
sort  of  cake  we  used  to  call  Brighton  Rock. 

Presently  one  of  the  tallest  men  came  strid 
ing  toward  the  trees  with  a  pan,  evidently  after 
spice ;  and  before  she  could  run,  he  saw  Lily. 

"Hollo,  what  do  you  want?"  he  asked,  star 
ing  at  her  with  his  black  currant  eyes,  while 


THE   CANDY  COUNTRY  11 

he  briskly  picked  the  bark  off  a  cinnamon- 
tree. 

"  I  'm  travelling,  and  would  like  to  know  what 
place  this  is,  if  you  please,"  answered  Lily,  very 
politely,  being  a  little  frightened. 

"Cake-land.  Where  do  you  come  from?" 
asked  the  gingerbread  man,  in  a  crisp  tone  of 
voice. 

"  I  was  blown  into  the  Candy  country,  and 
have  been  there  a  long  time ;  but  I  got  tired  of 
it,  and  ran  away  to  find  something  better." 

"  Sensible  child  !  "  and  the  man  smiled  till  Lily 
thought  his  cheeks  would  crumble.  "  You  '11  get 
on  better  here  with  us  Brownies  than  with  the 
lazy  Bonbons,  who  never  work  and  are  all  for 
show.  They  won't  own  us,  though  we  are  all 
related  through  our  grandparents  Sugar  and 
Molasses.  We  are  busy  folks ;  so  they  turn  up 
their  noses  and  don't  speak  when  we  meet  at 
parties.  Poor  creatures,  silly  and  sweet  and 
unsubstantial !  I  pity  'em." 

"  Could  I  make  you  a  visit  ?  I  'd  like  to  see 
how  you  live,  and  what  you  do.  I'm  sure  it 
must  be  interesting,"  said  Lily,  picking  herself 
up  after  a  tumble,  having  eaten  nearly  all  the 
stone,  she  was  so  hungry. 

"I  know  you  will.     Come  on!     I  can  talk 


12  THE   CANDY  COUNTRY 

while  I  work."  And  the  funny  gingerbread 
man  trotted  off  toward  his  kitchen,  full  of  pans, 
rolling-pins,  and  molasses  jugs. 

"  Sit  down.  I  shall  be  at  leisure  as  soon  as 
this  batch  is  baked.  There  are  still  some  wise 
people  down  below  who  like  gingerbread,  and 
I  have  my  hands  full,"  he  said,  dashing  about, 
stirring,  rolling  out,  and  slapping  the  brown 
dough  into  pans,  which  he  whisked  into  the 
oven  and  out  again  so  fast  that  Lily  knew  there 
must  be  magic  about  it  somewhere. 

Every  now  and  then  he  threw  her  a  delicious 
cooky  warm  from  the  oven.  She  liked  the  queer 
fellow,  and  presently  began  to  talk,  being  very 
curious  about  this  country. 

"  What  is  your  name,  sir  ?" 

"  Ginger  Snap." 

Lily  thought  it  a  good  one ;  for  he  was  very 
quick,  and  she  fancied  he  could  be  short  and 
sharp  if  he  liked. 

"  Where  does  all  this  cake  go  to  ?"  she  asked, 
after  watching  the  other  kitchens  full  of  workers, 
who  were  all  of  different  kinds  of  cake,  and  each 
set  of  cook*  made  its  own  sort. 

"I'll  show  you  by  and  by,"  answered  Snap, 
beginning  to  pile  up  the  heaps  of  gingerbread 
on  a  little  car  that  ran  along  a  track  leading  to 
some  unknown  storeroom,  Lily  thought. 


THE   CANDY  COUNTRY  13 

"  Don't  you  get  tired  of  doing  this  all  the 
time?" 

"  Yes ;  but  I  want  to  be  promoted,  and  I 
never  shall  be  till  I've  done  my  best,  and  won 
the  prize  here." 

"Oh,  tell  me  about  it!  What  is  the  prize, 
and  how  are  you  promoted  ?  Is  this  a  cooking- 
school?" 

"  Yes ;  the  prize  for  best  gingerbread  is  a 
cake  of  condensed  yeast.  That  puts  a  soul  into 
me,  and  I  begin  to  rise  till  I  am  able  to  go  over 
the  hills  yonder  into  the  blessed  land  of  bread, 
and  be  one  of  the  happy  creatures  who  are 
always  wholesome,  always  needed,  and  with 
out  which  the  world  below  would  be  in  a  bad 
way." 

"  Bless  me!  that  is  the  queerest  thing  I've 
heard  yet.  But  I  don't  wonder  you  want  to  go ; 
I  'm  tired  of  sweets  myself,  and  long  for  a  good 
piece  of  bread,  though  I  used  to  want  cake  and 
candy  at  home." 

"  Ah,  my  dear,  you  '11  learn  a  good  deal  here ; 
and  you  are  lucky  not  to  have  got  into  the 
clutches  of  Giant  Dyspepsia,  who  always  gets 
people  if  they  eat  too  much  of  such  rubbish  and 
scorn  wholesome  bread.  I  leave  my  ginger 
behind  when  I  go,  and  get  white  and  round 


14  THE  CANDY  COUNTRY 

and  beautiful,  as  you  will  see.  The  Ginger 
bread  family  have  never  been  as  foolish  as  some 
of  the  other  cakes.  Wedding  is  the  worst ; 
such  extravagance  in  the  way  of  wine  and  spice 
and  fruit  I  never  saw,  and  such  a  mess  to  eat 
when  it 's  done !  I  don't  wonder  people  get 
sick  ;  serves  'em  right."  And  Snap  flung  down 
a  pan  with  such  a  bang  that  it  made  Lily 
jump. 

"  Sponge  cake  is  n't  bad,  is  it  ?  Mamma  lets 
me  eat  it,  but  I  like  frosted  pound  better,"  she 
said,  looking  over  to  the  next  kitchen,  where 
piles  of  that  sort,  of  cake  were  being  iced. 

"  Poor  stuff.  No  substance.  Ladies'  fingers 
will  do  for  babies,  but  pound  has '  too  much 
butter  ever  to  be  healthy.  Let  it  alone,  and 
eat  cookies  or  seed-cakes,  my  dear.  Now,  come 
along ;  I  'm  ready."  And  Snap  trundled  away 
his  car-load  at  a  great  pace. 

Lily  ran  behind  to  pick  up  whatever  fell,  and 
looked  about  her  as  she  went,  for  this  was  cer 
tainly  a  very  queer  country.  Lakes  of  eggs  all 
beaten  up,  and  hot  springs  of  saleratus  foamed 
here  and  there  ready  for  use.  The  earth  was 
brown  sugar  or  ground  spice ;  and  the  only 
fruits  were  raisins,  dried  currants,  citron,  and 
lemon  peel.  It  was  a  very  busy  place ;  for 


THE   CANDY  COUNTRY  15 

ever}7  one  cooked  all  the  time,  and  never  failed 
and  never  seemed  tired,  though  they  got  so  hot 
that  the}7  only  wore  sheets  of  paper  for  clothes. 
There  were  piles  of  it  to  put  over  the  cake,  so 
that  it  should  n't  burn ;  and  they  made  cook's 
white  caps  and  aprons  of  it,  and  looked  very 
nice.  A  large  clock  made  of  a  flat  pancake, 
with  cloves  to  mark  the  hours  and  two  tooth 
picks  for  hands,  showed  them  how  long  to  bake 
things ;  and  in  one  place  an  ice  wall  was  built 
round  a  lake  of  butter,  which  they  cut  in  lumps 
as  they  wanted  it. 

"  Here  we  are.  Now,  stand  away  while  I  pitch 
'em  down,"  said  .Snap,  stopping  at  last  before  a 
hole  in  the  ground  where  a  dumb-waiter  hung 
ready,  with  a  name  over  it. 

There  were  many  holes  all  round,  and  many 
waiters,  each  with  its  name;  and  Lily  was 
amazed  when  she  read  "  Weber,"  "  Copeland," 
"  Dooling,"  and  others,  which  she  knew  very 
well. 

Over  Snap's  place  was  the  name  "  New- 
march  ; "  and  Lily  said,  "  Why,  that 's  where 
mamma  gets  her  hard  gingerbread,  and  Weber's 
is  where  we  go  for  ice-cream.  Do  you  make 
cake  for  them  ?  " 

"  Yes,  but  no  one  knows  it.     It 's  one  of  the 


16  THE   CANDY  COUNTRY 

secrets  of  the  trade.  We  cook  for  all  the  con 
fectioners,  and  people  think  the  good  things 
come  out  of  the  cellars  under  their  saloons. 
Good  joke,  is  n't  it  ?  "  And  Snap  laughed  till  a 
crack  came  in  his  neck  and  made  him  cough. 

Lily  was  so  surprised  she  sat  down  on  a  warm 
queen's  cake  that  happened  to  be  near,  and 
watched  Snap  send  down  load  after  load  of 
gingerbread  to  be  eaten  by  children,  who  would 
have  liked  it  much  better  if  they  had  only 
known  where  it  came  from,  as  she  did. 

As  she  sat,  the  clatter  of  many  spoons,  the 
smell  of  many  dinners,  and  the  sound  of  many 
voices  calling,  "One  vanilla,  two  strawberries, 
and  a  Charlotte  Russe,"  "  Three  stews,  cup 
coffee,  dry  toast,"  "  Roast  chicken  and  apple 
without,"  came  up  the  next  hole,  which  was 
marked  "Copeland." 

"  Dear  me !  it  seems  as  if  I  was  there,"  said 
Lily,  longing  to  hop  down,  but  afraid  of  the 
bump  at  the  other  end. 

"  I  'm  done.  Come  along,  I  '11  ride  you  back," 
called  Snap,  tossing  the  last  cooky  after  the 
dumb-waiter  as  it  went  slowly  out  of  sight  with 
its  spicy  load. 

"  I  wish  you  'd  teach  me  to  cook.  It  looks 
great  fun,  and  mamma  wants  me  to  learn :  only 


THE   CANDY  COUNTRY  17 

our  cook  hates  to  have  me  mess  round,  and  is  so 
cross  that  I  don't  like  to  try  at  home,"  said  Lily, 
as  she  went  trundling  back. 

"  Better  wait  till  you  get  to  Bread-land,  and 
learn  to  make  that.  It 's  a  great  art,  and  worth 
knowing.  Don't  waste  your  time  on  cake, 
though  plain  gingerbread  is  n't  bad  to  have  in 
the  house.  I  '11  teach  you  that  in  a  jiffy,  if  the 
clock  does  n't  strike  my  hour  too  soon,"  an 
swered  Snap,  helping  her  down. 

"  What  hour  ?  " 

"  Why,  of  my  freedom.  I  never  know  when 
I  've  done  my  task  till  I  'm  called  by  the  chimes 
and  go  to  get  my  soul,"  said  Snap,  turning  his 
currant  eyes  anxiously  to  the  clock. 

"  I  hope  you  will  have  time."  And  Lily  fell 
to  work  with  all  her  might,  after  Snap  had  put 
on  her  a  paper  apron  and  a  cap  like  his. 

It  was  not  hard ;  for  when  she  was  going 
to  make  a  mistake  a  spark  flew  out  of  the 
fire  and  burnt  her  in  time  to  remind  her 
to  look  at  the  receipt,  which  was  a  sheet  of 
gingerbread  in  a  frame  of  pie-crust  hung  up 
before  her,  with  the  directions  written  while 
it  was  soft  and  baked  in.  The  third  sheet 
she  made  came  out  of  the  oven  spicy,  light, 
and  brown ;  and  Snap,  giving  it  one  poke,  said, 
2 


18  THE   CANDY  COUNTRY 

"  That 's  all  right.  Now  you  know.  Here  's 
your  reward." 

He  handed  her  a  receipt-book  made  of  thin 
sheets  of  sugar-gingerbread  held  together  by  a 
gelatine  binding,  with  her  name  stamped  on  the 
back,  and  each  leaf  crimped  with  a  cake-cutter 
in  the  most  elegant  manner. 

Lily  was  charmed  with  it,  but  had  no  time  to 
read  all  it  contained  ;  for  just  then  the  clock 
began  to  strike,  and  a  chime  of  bells  to  ring,  — 

"  Gingerbread, 
Go  to  the  head. 
Your  task  is  done; 
A  soul  is  won. 
Take  it  and  go 
Where  muffins  grow, 
Where  sweet  loaves  rise 
To  the  very  skies, 
And  biscuits  fair 
Perfume  the  air. 
Away,  away  1 
Make  no  delay; 
In  the  sea  of  flour 
Plunge  this  hour. 
Safe  in  your  breast 
Let  the  yeast-cake  rest, 
Till  you  rise  in  joy, 
A  white  bread  boy  !  " 

"  Ha,  ha  !  1  'm  free  !  I  'm  free  !  "  cried  Snap, 
catching  up  the  silver-covered  square  that  seemed 


THE   CANDY  COUNTRY  19 

to  fall  from  heaven  ;  and  running  to  a  great 
white  sea  of  flour,  he  went  in  head  first,  holding 
the  yeast-cake  clasped  to  his  breast  as  if  his  life 
depended  on  it. 

Lily  watched  breathlessly,  while  a  curious 
working  and  bubbling  went  on,  as  if  Snap  was 
tumbling  about  down  there,  like  a  small  earth 
quake.  The  other  cake-folk  stood  round  the 
shore  with  her ;  for  it  was  a  great  event,  and  all 
were  glad  that  the  dear  fellow  was  promoted  so 
soon.  Suddenly  a  cry  was  heard,  and  up  rose 
a  beautiful  white  figure  on  the  farther  side  of 
the  sea.  It  moved  its  hand,  as  if  saying  "  Good- 
by,"  and  ran  over  the  hills  so  fast  they  had 
only  time  to  see  how  plump  and  fair  he  was, 
with  a  little  knob  on  the  top  of  his  head  like  a 
crown. 

"  He  's  gone  to  the  happy  land,  and  we  shall 
miss  him ;  but  we  '11  follow  his  example  and 
soon  find  him  again,"  said  a  gentle  Sponge 
Cake,  with  a  sigh,  as  all  went  back  to  their 
work ;  while  Lily  hurried  after  Snap,  eager 
to  see  the  new  country,  which  was  the  best  of 
all. 

A  delicious  odor  of  fresh  bread  blew  up  from 
the  valley  as  she  stood  on  the  hill-top  and  looked 
down  on  the  peaceful  scene  below.  Fields  of 


20  THE   CANDY   COUNTRY 

yellow  grain  waved  in  the  breeze ;  hop-vines 
grew  from  tree  to  tree  ,  and  many  windmills 
whirled  their  white  sails  as  they  ground  the 
different  grains  into  fresh,  sweet  meal,  for  the 
loaves  of  bread  that  built  the  houses  like  bricks 
and  paved  the  streets,  or  in  many  shapes  formed 
the  people,  furniture,  and  animals.  A  river  of 
milk  flowed  through  the  peaceful  land,  and 
fountains  of  yeast  rose  and  fell  with  a  pleasant 
foam  and  fizz.  The  ground  was  a  mixture  of 
many  meals,  and  the  paths  were  golden  In 
dian,  which  gave  a  very  gay  look  to  the  scene. 
Buckwheat  flowers  bloomed  on  their  rosy  stems, 
and  tall  corn-stalks  rustled  their  leaves  in  the 
warm  air  that  came  from  the  ovens  hidden  in 
the  hillsides  ;  for  bread  needs  a  slow  fire,  and 
an  obliging  volcano  did  the  baking  here. 

"What  a  lovely  place!"  cried  Lily,  feeling 
the  charm  of  the  homelike  landscape,  in  spite  of 
the  funny  plump  people  moving  about. 

Two  of  these  figures  came  running  to  meet 
her  as  she  slowly  walked  down  the  yellow  path 
from  the  hill.  One  was  a  golden  boy,  with  a 
beaming  face ;  the  other  a  little  girl  in  a  shiny 
brown  cloak,  who  looked  as  if  she  would  taste 
very  nice.  They  each  put  a  warm  hand  into 
Lily's,  and  the  boy  said, — 


THE   CANDY  COUNTRY  21 

"  We  are  glad  to  see  you.  Muffin  told  us  you 
were  coming." 

"  Thank  you.  Who  is  Muffin  ?  "  asked  Lily, 
feeling  as  if  she  had  seen  both  these  little  people 
before,  and  liked  them. 

"  He  was  Ginger  Snap  once,  but  he 's  a 
Muffin  now.  We  begin  in  that  way,  and  work 
up  to  the  perfect  loaf  by  degrees.  My  name  is 
Johnny  Cake,  and  she  's  Sally  Limn.  You  know 
us  ;  so  come  on  and  have  a  race." 

Lily  burst  out  laughing  at  the  idea  of  playing 
with  these  old  friends  of  hers ;  and  all  three  ran 
away  as  fast  as  they  could  tear,  down  the  hill, 
over  a  bridge,  into  the  middle  of  the  village, 
where  they  stopped,  panting,  and  sat  down  on 
some  very  soft  rolls  to  rest. 

"  What  do  you  all  do  here  ?  "  asked  Lily,  when 
she  got  her  breath  again. 

"  WTe  farm,  we  study,  we  bake,  we  brew, 
and  are  as  merry  as  grigs  all  day  long.  It's 
school-time  now,  and  we  must  go ;  will  you 
come  ? "  said  Sally,  jumping  up  as  if  she 
liked  it. 

u  Our  schools  are  not  like  yours ;  we  only 
study  two  things,  —  grain  and  yeast.  I  think 
you  '11  like  it.  We  have  yeast  to-day,  and  the 
experiments  are  very  jolly,"  added  Johnny,  trot- 


22  THE   CANDY  COUNTRY 

ting  off  to  a  tall  brown  tower  of  rye  and  Indian 
bread,  where  the  school  was  kept. 

Lily  never  liked  to  go  to  school,  but  she  was 
ashamed  to  own  it ;  so  she  went  along  with 
Sally,  and  was  so  amused  with  all  she  saw  that 
she  was  glad  she  came.  The  brown  loaf  was 
hollow,  and  had  no  roof ;  and  when  she  asked 
why  they  used  a  ruin,  Sally  told  her  to  wait  and 
see  why  they  chose  strong  walls  and  plenty  of 
room  overhead.  All  round  was  a  circle  of  very 
small  biscuits  like  cushions,  and  on  these  the 
Bread-children  sat.  A  square  loaf  in  the 
middle  was  the  teacher's  desk,  and  on  it  lay  an 
ear  of  wheat,  with  several  bottles  of  yeast  well 
corked  up.  The  teacher  was  a  pleasant,  plump 
lady  from  Vienna,  very  wise,  and  so  famous  for 
her  good  bread  that  sh-e  was  a  Professor  of 
Grainology. 

When  all  were  seated,  she  began  with  the 
wheat  ear,  and  told  them  all  about  it  in  such  an 
interesting  way  that  Lily  felt  as  if  she  had  never 
known  anything  about  the  bread  she  ate  before. 
The  experiments  with  the  yeast  were  quite  ex 
citing, —  for  Fraulein  Pretzel  showed  them  how 
it  would  work  till  it  blew  the  cork  out,  and 
go  fizzing  up  to  the  sky  if  it  was  kept  too  long ; 
how  it  would  turn  sour  or  flat,  and  spoil  the 


THE   CANDY  COUNTRY  23 

bread  if  care  was  not  taken  to  use  it  just  at  the 
right  moment ;  and  how  too  much  would  cause 
the  loaf  to  rise  till  there  was  no  substance  to  it. 

The  children  were  very  bright ;  for  they  were 
fed  on  the  best  kinds  of  oatmeal  and  Graham 
bread,  with  very  little  white  bread  or  hot  cakes 
to  spoil  their  young  stomachs.  Hearty,  happy 
boys  and  girls  they  were,  and  their  yeasty 
souls  were  very  lively  in  them ;  for  they  danced 
and  sang,  and  seemed  as  bright  and  gay  as 
if  acidity,  heaviness,  and  mould  were  quite 
unknown. 

Lily  was  very  happy  with  them,  and  when 
school  was  done  went  home  with  Sally  and  ate 
the  best  bread  and  milk  for  dinner  that  she  ever 
tasted.  In  the  afternoon  Johnny  took  her  to 
the  cornfield,  and  showed  her  how  they  kept 
the  growing  ears  free  from  mildew  and  worms. 
Then  she  went  to  the  bakehouse ;  and  here  she 
found  her  old  friend  Muffin  hard  at  work  mak 
ing  Parker  House  rolls,  for  he  was  such  a  good 
cook  he  was  set  to  work  at  once  on  the  lighter 
kinds  of  bread. 

"  Well,  is  n't  this  better  than  Candy-land  or 
Saccharissa  ?  "  he  asked,  as  he  rolled  and  folded 
his  bits  of  dough  with  a  dab  of  butter  tucked 
inside. 


24  THE   CANDY  COUNTRY 


"  Ever  so  much  !  "  cried  Lily.  "  I  feel  better 
already,  and  mean  to  learn  all  I  can.  Mamrna 
will  be  so  pleased  if  I  can  make  good  bread 
when  I  go  home.  She  is  rather  old-fashioned, 
and  likes  me  to  be  a  nice  housekeeper.  I  didn't 
think  bread  interesting  then,  but  I  do  now  ;  and 
Johnny's  mother  is  going  to  teach  me  to  make 
Indian  cakes  to-morrow." 

"  Glad  to  hear  it.  Learn  all  you  can,  and  tell 
other  people  how  to  make  healthy  bodies  and 
happy  souls  by  eating  good  plain  food.  Not 
like  this,  though  these  rolls  are  better  than  cake. 
I  have  to  work  my  way  up  to  the  perfect  loaf, 
you  know  ;  and  then,  oh,  then,  I  'm  a  happy 
thing." 

"  What  happens  then  ?  Do  you  go  on  to 
some  other  wonderful  place  ? "  asked  Lily,  as 
Muffin  paused  with  a  smile  on  his  face. 

"  Yes  ;  I  am  eaten  by  some  wise,  good  human 
being,  and  become  a  part  of  him  or  her.  That 
is  immortality  and  heaven  ;  for  I  may  nourish  a 
poet  and  help  him  sing,  or  feed  a  good  woman 
who  makes  the  world  better  for  being  in  it,  or 
be  crumbed  into  the  golden  porringer  of  a  baby 
prince  who  is  to  rule  a  kingdom.  Is  n't  that  a 
noble  way  to  live,  and  an  end  worth  working 
for  ? "  asked  Muffin,  in  a  tone  that  made  Lily 


THE   CANDY  COUNTRY  25 

feel  as  if  some  sort  of  fine  yeast  had  got  into 
her,  and  was  setting  her  brain  to  work  with  new 
thoughts. 

"  Yes,  it  is.  I  suppose  all  common  things 
are  made  for  that  purpose,  if  we  only  knew  it; 
and  people  should  be  glad  to  do  anything  to 
help  the  world  along,  even  making  good  bread 
in  a  kitchen,"  answered  Lily,  in  a  sober  way 
that  showed  .that  her  little  mind  was  already 
digesting  the  new  food  it  had  got. 

She  stayed  in  Bread-land  a  long  time,  and 
enjoyed  and  learned  a  great  deal  that  she  never 
forgot.  But  at  last,  when  she  had  made  the 
perfect  loaf,  she  wanted  to  go  home,  that  her 
mother  might  see  and  taste  it. 

"  I  've  put  a  good  deal  of  myself  into  it,  and 
I  'd  love  to  think  I  had  given  her  strength  or 
pleasure  by  my  work,"  she  said,  as  she  and 
Sally  stood  looking  at  the  handsome  loaf. 

"  You  can  go  whenever  you  like  ;  just  take 
the  bread  in  your  hands  and  wish  three  times, 
and  you  '11  be  wherever  you  say.  I  'm  sorry  to 
have  you  go,  but  I  don't  wonder  you  want  to 
sec  your  mother.  Don't  forget  what  you  have 
learned,  and  you  will  always  be  glad  you  came 
to  us,"  said  Sally,  kissing  her  good-by. 

"  Where  is  Muffin  ?    I  can't  go  without  see- 


26  THE   CANDY  COUNTRY 

ing  him,  my  dear  old  friend,"  answered  Lily, 
looking  round  for  him. 

"  He  is  here,"  said  Sally,  touching  the  loaf. 
"  He  was  ready  to  go,  and  chose  to  pass  into 
your  bread  rather  than  any  other ,  for  he  said 
he  loved  you  and  would  be  glad  to  help  feed  so 
good  a  little  girl." 

"  How  kind  of  him  !  I  must  be  careful  to 
grow  wise  and  excellent,  else  he  will  be  dis 
appointed  and  have  died  in  vain,"  said  Lily, 
touched  by  his  devotion. 

Then,  bidding  them  all  farewell,  she  hugged 
her  loaf  close,  wished  three  times  to  be  in  her 
own  home,  and  like  a  flash  she  was  there. 

Whether  her  friends  believed  the  wonderful 
tale  of  her  adventures  I  cannot  tell ;  but  I  know 
that  she  was  a  nice  little  housekeeper  from  that 
day,  and  made  such  good  bread  that  other  girls 
came  to  learn  of  her.  She  also  grew  from  a 
sickly,  fretful  child  into  a  fine,  strong  woman, 
because  she  ate  very  little  cake  and  candy, 
except  at  Christmas  time,  when  the  oldest  and 
the  wisest  love  to  make  a  short  visit  to  Candy- 
land. 


[  —  \f/  V/"W  l:r> '- -  f££l     9*Js% 

xrv'fe',    ^"'  1  ^-'^'-fAv         -^mut "•*•*-  ''  ^^-^^ 

:«i-x     i 


Poor  Billy  dangling  from  a  bough,  high  above  the  ground. 
PAGE  43. 


HOW  THEY  RAN  AWAY 

Two  little  boys  sat  on  the  fence '  whittling 
arrows  one  fine  day.  Said  one  little  boy  to  the 
other  little  boy,  — 

"  Let 's  do  something  jolly." 

"  All  right.     What  will  we  do  ?  " 

"  Run  off  to  the  woods  and  be  hunters." 

"  What  can  we  hunt  ?  " 


28  HOW   THEY  RAN  AWAY 

"  Bears  and  foxes." 

"  Mullin  says  there  ain't  any  round  here." 

"  Well,  we  can  shoot  squirrels  and  snare 
woodchucks." 

"  Have  n't  got  any  guns  and  trap." 

"  We  've  got  our  bows,  and  I  found  an  old 
trap  behind  the  barn." 

"  What  will  we  eat  ?  " 

"  Here  's  our  lunch  ;  and  when  that 's  gone 
we  can  roast  the  squirrels  and  cook  the  fish  on 
a  stick.  I  know  how." 

"  Where  will  you  get  the  fire  ?  " 

"  Got  matches  in  my  pocket." 

u  T  've  got  a  lot  of  things  we  could  use.  Let 's 
see." 

And  as  if  satisfied  at  last,  cautious  Billy  dis 
played  his  treasures,  while  bold  Tommy  did  the 
same. 

Besides  the  two  knives  there  were  strings, 
nails,  matches,  a  piece  of  putty,  fish-hooks,  and 
two  very  dirty  handkerchiefs. 

"  There,  sir,  that 's  a  first-rate  fit-out  for 
hunters  ;  and  with  the  jolly  basket  of  lunch  Mrs. 
Mullin  gave  us,  we  can  get  on  tip-top  for  two  or 
three  days,"  said  Tommy,  eager  to  be  off. 

"  Where  shall  we  sleep  ? "  asked  Billy,  who 
liked  to  be  comfortable  both  night  and  day. 


HOW  THEY  RAN  AWAY  29 

"  Oh,  up  in  trees  or  on  beds  of  leaves,  like 
the  fellows  in  our  books.  If  you  are  afraid, 
stay  at  home  ;  I  'm  going  to  have  no  end  of  a 
good  time."  And  Tommy  crammed  the  things 
back  into  his  pockets  as  if  there  were  no  time  to 
lose. 

"  Pooh  !  T  ain't  afraid.  Come  on  !  "  And 
jumping  down  Billy  caught  up  his  rod,  rather 
ashamed  of  his  many  questions. 

No  one  was  looking  at  them,  and  they  might 
have  walked  quietly  off  ;  but  that  the  "  running 
away  "  might  be  all  right,  both  raced  down  the 
road,  tumbled  over  a  wall,  and  dashed  into  the 
woods  as  if  a  whole  tribe  of  wild  Indians  were 
after  them. 

"  Do  you  know  the  way  ?  "  panted  Billy,  when 
at  last  they  stopped  for  breath. 

"  Yes,  it  winds  right  up  the  mountain  ;  but 
we  'd  better  not  keep  to  it,  or  some  one  will  see 
us  and  take  us  back.  We  are  going  to  be  real 
hunters  and  have  adventures  ;  so  we  must  get 
lost,  and  find  our  way  by  the  sun  and  the  stars," 
answered  Tommy,  who  had  read  so  many  Boys' 
Books  his  little  head  was  a  jumble  of  Texan 
Rangers,  African  Explorers,  and  Buffalo  Bills  ; 
and  he  burned  to  outdo  them  all. 

"  What    will   our   mothers  say  if   we   really 


80  HOW  THEY  RAN  AWAY 

get  lost?"  asked  Billy,  always  ready  with  a 
question. 

"  Mine  won't  fuss.  She  lets  me  do  what  I 
like." 

That  was  true ;  for  Tommy's  poor  mamma 
was  tired  of  trying  to  keep  the  lively  little  fel 
low  in  order,  and  had  got  used  to  seeing  him 
come  out  of  all  his  scrapes  without  much  harm. 

"  Mine  will  be  scared ;  she  's  always  afraid 
I  'in  going  to  get  hurt,  so  1  'm  careful.  But  I 
guess  I  '11  risk  it,  and  have  some  fun  to  tell 
about  when  we  go  home,"  said  Billy,  trudging 
after  Captain  Tommy,  who  always  took  the  lead. 

These  eleven-year-old  boys  were  staying  with 
their  mothers  at  a  farm-house  up  among  the 
mountains;  and  having  got  tired  of  the  tame 
bears,  the  big  barn,  the  trout  brook,  the  thirty 
colts  at  pasture,  and  the  society  of  the  few  little 
girls  and  younger  boys  at  the  hotel  near  by, 
these  fine  fellows  longed  to  break  loose  and 
"  rough  it  in  the  bush,"  as  the  hunters  did  in 
their  favorite  stories. 

Away  they  went,  deeper  and  deeper  into  the 
great  forest  that  covered  the  side  of  the  moun 
tain.  A  pleasant  place  that  August  day  ;  for  it 
was  cool  and  green,  with  many  brooks  splash 
ing  over  the  rocks,  or  lying  in  brown  pools 


HOW   THEY  RAN  AWAY  31 

under  the  ferns.  Squirrels  chattered  and  raced 
in  the  tall  pines ;  now  and  then  a  gray  rabbit 
skipped  out  of  sight  among  the  brakes,  or  a 
strange  bird  flew  by.  Here  and  there  black 
berries  grew  in  the  open  places,  sassafras  bushes 
were  plentiful,  and  black-birch  bark  was  ready 
for  chewing. 

"  Don't  you  call  this  nice  ?"  asked  Tommy, 
pausing  at  last  in  a  little  dell  where  a  noisy 
brook  came  tumbling  down  the  mountain  side, 
and  the  pines  sung  overhead. 

"Yes;  but  I'm  awful  hungry.  Let's  rest  and 
eat  our  lunch,"  said  Billy,  sitting  down  on  a 
cushion  of  moss. 

"  You  always  want  to  be  stuffing  and  resting," 
answered  sturdy  Tommy,  who  liked  to  be  mov 
ing  all  the  time. 

He  took  the  fishing-basket,  which  hung  over 
his  shoulder  by  a  strap,  and  opened  it  carefully  ; 
for  good  Mrs.  Mullin  had  packed  a  nice  lunch 
of  bread  and  butter,  cake  and  peaches,  with  a 
bottle  of  milk,  and  two  large  pickles  slipped  in 
on  the  sly  to  please  the  boys. 

Tommy's  face  grew  very  sober  as  he  looked 
in,  for  all  he  saw  was  a  box  of  worms  for  bait 
and  an  old  jacket. 

"  By   George  !  we  've  got  the  wrong  basket. 


32  HOW   THEY  RAJV  AWAf 

This  is  Mullin's,  and  he 's  gone  off  with  our 
prog.  Won't  he  be  mad  ?  " 

"  Not  as  mad  as  I  am.  Why  did  n't  you  look  ? 
You  are  always  in  such  a  hurry  to  start.  What 
shall  we  do  now  without  anything  to  eat  ? " 
whined  Billy  ;  for  losing  his  lunch  was  a  dread 
ful  blow  to  him. 

"  We  shall  have  to  catch  some  fish  and  eat 
blackberries.  Which  will  you  do,  old  cry 
baby  ? "  said  Tommy,  laughing  at  the  other 
boy's  dismal  face. 

"  I  '11  fish ;  I  'm  so  tired  I  can't  go  scratching 
round  after  berries.  I  don't  love  'em  either." 
And  Billy  began  to  fix  his  line  and  bait  his 
hook. 

"  Lucky  we  got  the  worms ;  you  can  eat  'em 
if  you  can't  wait  for  fish,"  said  Tommy,  bustling 
about  to  empty  the  basket  and  pile  up  their  few 
possessions  in  a  heap.  u  There  's  a  quiet  pool 
below  here,  you  go  and  fish  there.  I  '11  pick  the 
berries,  and  then  show  you  how  to  get  dinner  in 
the  woods.  This  is  our  camp ;  so  fly  round  and 
do  your  best." 

Then  Tommy  ran  off  to  a  place  near  by 
where  he  had  seen  the  berries,  while  Billy  found 
a  comfortable  nook  by  the  pool,  and  sat  scowl 
ing  at  the  water  so  crossly,  it  was  a  wonder 


HOW  THEY  RAN  AWAY  33 

any  trout  came  to  his  hook.  But  the  fat  worms 
tempted  several  small  ones,  and  he  cheered  up 
at  the  prospect  of  food.  Tommy  whistled  while 
he  picked,  and  in  half  an  hour  came  back  with 
two  quarts  of  nice  berries  and  an  armful  of  dry 
sticks  for  the  fire. 

u  We  '11  have  a  jolly  dinner,  after  all,"  he  said, 
as  the  flames  went  crackling  up,  and  the  dry 
leaves  made  a  pleasant  smell. 

"  Got  four,  but  don't  see  how  we  '11  ever  cook 
'em ;  no  frying-pan,"  grumbled  Billy,  throwing 
down  the  four  little  trout,  which  he  had  half 
cleaned. 

"  Don't  want  any.  Broil  'em  on  the  coals,  or 
toast  'em  on  a  forked  stick.  I  '11  show  you  how," 
said  cheerful  Tommy,  whittling  away,  and  feed 
ing  his  fire  as  much  like  a  real  hunter  as  a  small 
boy  could  be. 

While  he  worked,  Billy  ate  berries  and  sighed 
for  bread  and  butter.  At  last,  after  much  trouble, 
two  of  the  trout  were  half  cooked  and  eagerly 
eaten  by  the  hungry  boys.  But  they  were  very 
different  from  the  nice  brown  ones  Mrs.  Mullin 
gave  them ;  for  in  spite  of  Tommy's  struggles 
they  would  fall  in  the  ashes,  and  there  was  no 
salt  to  eat  with  them.  By  the  time  the  last  were 
toasted,  the  young  hunters  were  so  hungry  they 

3 


34  HOW  THEY  RAN  AWAY 

could  have  eaten  anything,  and  not  a  berry  was 
left. 

"  I  set  the  trap  down  there,  for  I  saw  a  hole 
among  the  vines,  and  I  should  n't  wonder  if  we 
got  a  rabbit  or  something,"  said  Tommy,  when 
the  last  bone  was  polished.  "  You  go  and  catch 
some  more  fish,  and  I  '11  see  if  I  have  caught  any 
old  chap  as  he  went  home  to  dinner." 

Off  ran  Tommy ;  and  the  other  boy  went 
slowly  back  to  the  brook,  wishing  with  all  his 
might  he  was  at  home  eating  sweet  corn  and 
berry  pie. 

The  trout  had  evidently  gone  to  their  dinners, 
for  not  one  bite  did  poor  Billy  get ;  and  he  was 
just  falling  asleep  when  a  loud  shout  gave  him 
such  a  fright  that  he  tumbled  into  the  brook  up 
to  his  knees. 

"  I  've  got  him  !  Come  and  see  !  He  's  a 
bouncer,"  roared  Tommy,  from  the  berry  bushes 
some  way  off. 

Billy  scrambled  out,  and  went  as  fast  as  his 
wet  boots  would  let  him,  to  see  what  the  prize 
was.  He  found  Tommy  dancing  wildly  round 
a  fat  gray  animal,  who  was  fighting  to  get  his 
paws  out  of  the  trap,  and  making  a  queer  noise 
as  he  struggled  about. 

"  What  is  it  ? "  asked  Billy,  getting  behind  a 


HOW   THEY  RAN  AWAY  35 

tree  as  fast  as  possible  ;  for  the  thing  looked 
fierce,  and  he  was  very  timid. 

"  A  raccoon,  I  guess,  or  a  big  woodchuck. 
Won't  his  fur  make  a  fine  cap?  I  guess  the 
other  fellows  will  wish  they  'd  come  with  us," 
said  Tommy,  prancing  to  and  fro,  without  the 
least  idea  what  to  do  with  the  creature. 

"  He  '11  bite.  We  'd  better  run  away  and  wait 
till  he's  dead,"  said  Billy. 

"  Wish  lie  'd  got  his  head  in,  then  "I  could 
carry  him  off ;  but  he  does  look  savage,  so  we  '11 
have  to  leave  him  awhile,  and  get  him  when  we 
come  back.  But  he's  a  real  beauty."  And 
Tommy  looked  proudly  at  the  bunch  of  gray 
fur  scuffling  in  the  sand. 

"  Can  we  ever  eat  him  ? "  asked  hungry 
Billy,  ready  for  a  fried  crocodile  if  he  could 
get  it. 

"  If  he 's  a  raccoon,  we  can  ;  but  I  don't  know 
about  woodchucks.  The  fellows  in  my  books 
don't  seem  to  have  caught  any.  He  's  nice  and 
fat ;  we  might  try  him  when  he  's  dead,"  said 
Tommy,  who  cared  more  for  the  skin  to  show 
than  the  best  meal  ever  cooked. 

The  sound  of  a  gun  echoing  through  the  wood 
gave  Tommy  a  good  idea.  — 

"  Let 's  find  the  man  and  get  him  to  shoot  this 


36  HOW   THEY  RAN  AWAY 

chap ;  then  we  need  n't  wait,  but  skin  him  right 
away,  and  eat  him  too." 

Off  they  went  to  the  camp ;  and  catching 
up  their  things,  the  two  hunters  hurried  away 
in  the  direction  of  the  sound,  feeling  glad  to 
know  that  some  one  was  near  them,  for  two 
or  three  hours  of  wood  life  made  them  a  little 
homesick. 

They  ran  and  scrambled,  and  listened  and 
called  ;  but  not  until  they  had  gone  a  long  way 
up  the  mountain  did  they  find  the  man,  resting 
in  an  old  hut  left  by  the  lumbermen.  The 
remains  of  his  dinner  were  spread  on  the  floor, 
and  he  lay  smoking,  and  reading  a  newspaper, 
while  his  dog  dozed  at  his  feet,  close  to  a  well- 
filled  game-bag. 

He  looked  surprised  when  two  dirty,  wet 
little  boys  suddenly  appeared  before  him,  —  one 
grinning  cheerfully,  the  other  looking  very  dis 
mal  and  scared  as  the  dog  growled  and  glared 
at  them  as  if  they  were  two  rabbits. 

"  Hollo  !  "  said  the  man. 

"  Hollo  !  "  answered  Tommy. 

"  Who  are  you  ?  "  asked  the  man. 

"  Hunters,"  said  Tommy. 

"  Had  good  luck  ?  "     And  the  man  laughed. 

"  First-rate.     Got  a  raccoon  in  our  trap,  and 


HOW  THEY  RAN  AWAY  37 

we  want  you  to  come  and  shoot  him,"  answered 
Tommy,  proudly. 

"  Sure  ? "  said  the  man,  looking  interested  as 
well  as  amused. 

"  No  ;  but  I  think  so." 

"What 'she  like?" 

Tommy  described  him,  and  was  much  disap 
pointed  when  the  man  lay  down  again,  saying, 
with  another  laugh, — 

"It's  a  woodchuck;  he's  no  good." 

"  But  I  want  the  skin." 

"  Then  don't  shoot  him,  let  him  die ;  that 's 
better  for  the  skin,"  said  the  man,  who  was  tired 
and  didn't  want  to* stop  for  such  poor  game. 

All  this  time  Billy  had  been  staring  hard  at 
the  sandwiches  and  bread  and  cheese  on  the 
floor,  and  sniffing  at  them,  as  the  dog  sniffed  at 
him. 

"  Want  some  grub  ? "  asked  the  man,  seeing 
the  hungry  look. 

"  I  just  do  !  We  left  our  lunch,  and  I  've  only 
had  two  little  trout  and  some  old  berries  since 
breakfast,"  answered  Billy,  with  tears  in  his 
eyes  and  a  hand  on  his  stomach. 

"  Eat  away  then ;  I  'm  done,  and  don't  want 
the  stuff."  And  the  man  took  up  his  paper  as 
if  glad  to  be  let  alone. 


38  HOW   THEY  RAN  AWAY 

It  was  lucky  that  the  dog  had  been  fed,  for  in 
ten  minutes  nothing  was  left  but  the  napkin  ; 
and  the  boys  sat  picking  up  the  crumbs,  much 
refreshed,  but  ready  for  more. 

"  Better  be  going  home,  my  lads  ;  it 's  pretty 
cold  on  the  mountain  after  sunset,  and  you  are 
a  long  way  from  town,"  said  the  man,  who  had 
peeped  at  them  over  his  paper  now  and  then, 
and  saw,  in  spite  of  the  dirt  and  rips,  that  they 
were  not  farmer  boys. 

"We  don't  live  in  town;  we  are  at  Mullin's, 
in  the  valley.  No  hurry  ;  we  know  the  way,  and 
we  want  to  have  some  sport  first.  You  seem 
to  have  done  well,"  answered  Tommy,  looking 
enviously  from  the  gun  to  the  game-bag,  out  of 
which  hung  a  rabbit's  head  and  a  squirrel's  tail. 

"  Pretty  fair ;  but  I  want  a  shot  at  the  bear. 
People  tell  me  there  is  one  up  here,  and  I  'm 
after  him ;  for  he  kills  the  sheep,  and  might  hurt 
some  of  the  young  folks  round  here,"  said  the 
man,  loading  his  gun  with  a  very  sober  air ;  for 
he  wanted  to  get  rid  of  the  boys  and  send  them 
home. 

Billy  looked  alarmed;  but  Tommy's  brown 
face  beamed  with  joy  as  he  said  eagerly, — 

"  I  hope  you  '11  get  him.  I  'd  rather  shoot  a 
bear  than  any  other  animal  but  a  lion,  We  don't 


HOW   THEY  RAN  AWAY  39 

have  those  here,  and  bears  are  scarce.  Mullin 
said  he  had  n't  heard  of  one  for  a  long  time ;  so 
this  must  be  a  young  one,  for  they  killed  the  big 
one  two  years  ago." 

That  was  true,  and  the  man  knew  it.  He  did 
not  really  expect  or  want  to  meet  a  bear,  but 
thought  the  idea  of  one  would  send  the  little 
fellows  home  at  once.  Finding  one  of  them  was 
unscared,  he  laughed,  and  said  with  a  nod  to 
Tommy,  — 

"  If  I  had  time  I  'd  take  you  along,  and  show 
you  how  to  hunt ;  but  this  fat  friend  of  yours 
could  n't  rough  it  with  us,  and  we  can't  leave 
him  alone ;  so  go  ahead  your  own  way.  Only  I 
would  n't  climb  any  higher,  for  among  the  rocks 
you  are  sure  to  get  hurt  or  lost." 

"Oh,  I  say,  let's  go!  Such  fun,  Billy  !  I 
know  you  '11  like  it.  A  real  gun  and  dog  and 
hunter  !  Come  on,  and  don't  be  a  molly-coddle," 
cried  Tommy,  wild  to  go. 

"  I  won't !  I  'm  tired,  and  I  'm  going  home  ; 
you  can  go  after  your  old  bears  if  you  want  to. 
I  don't  think  much  of  hunting  anyway,  and  wish 
I  hadn't  come,"  growled  Billy,  very  cross  at 
being  left  out,  yet  with  no  desire  to  scramble  any 
more. 

"  Can't  stop.     Good-by.    Get  along  home,  and 


40  HOW   THEY  RAN  AWAY 

some  day  I'll  come  and  take  you  out  with  me, 
little  Leatherstocking,"  said  the  man,  striding 
off  with  the  dear  gun  and  dog  and  bag,  leaving 
Billy  to  wonder  what  he  meant  by  that  queer 
name,  and  Tommy  to  console  himself  with  the 
promise  made  him. 

"  Let 's  go  and  see  how  old  Chucky  gets  on," 
he  said  good-naturedly,  when  the  man  vanished. 

"Not  till  I'm  rested.  I  can  get  a  good  nap 
on  this  pile  of  hay ;  then  we  '11  go  home  before 
it 's  late,"  answered  lazy  Billy,  settling  himself 
on  the  rough  bed  the  lumbermen  had  used. 

"  I  just  wish  I  had  a  boy  with  some  go  in 
him ;  you  ain't  much  better  than  a  girl,"  sighed 
Tommy,  walking  off  to  a  pine-tree  where  some 
squirrels  seemed  to  be  having  a  party,  they 
chattered  and  raced  up  and  down  at  such  a 
rate. 

He  tried  his  bow  and  shot  all  his  arrows  many 
times  in  vain,  for  the  lively  creatures  gave  him 
no  chance.  He  had  better  luck  with  a  brown 
bird  who  sat  in  a  bush  and  was  hit  full  in  the 
breast  with  the  sharpest  arrow.  The  poor  thing 
fluttered  and  fell,  and  its  blood  wet  the  green 
leaves  as  it  lay  dying  on  the  grass.  Tommy 
was  much  pleased  at  first;  but  as  he  stood 
watching  its  bright  eye  grow  dim  and  its  pretty 


HOW  THEY  RAN  AWAY  41 

brown  wings  stop  fluttering,  he  felt  sorry  that 
its  happy  little  life  was  so  cruelly  ended,  and 
ashamed  that  his  thoughtless  fun  had  given  so 
much  pain. 

"  I  '11  never  shoot  another  bird  except  hawks 
after  chickens,  and  I  won't  brag  about  this  one. 
It  was  so  tame,  and  trusted  me,  I  was  very  mean 
to  kill  it." 

As  he  thought  this,  Tommy  smoothed  the 
ruffled  feathers  of  the  dead  thrush,  and,  making 
a  little  grave  under  the  pine,  buried  it  wrapped 
in  green  leaves,  and  left  it  there  where  its  mate 
could  sing  over  it,  and  no  rude  hands  disturb 
its  rest. 

"  I  '11  tell  mamma  and  she  will  understand ; 
but  I  won't  tell  Billy.  He  is  such  a  greedy 
old  chap  he'll  say  I  ought  to  have  kept  the 
poor  bird  to  eat,"  thought  Tommy,  as  he  went 
back  to  the  hut,  and  sat  there,  restringing  his 
bow,  till  Billy  woke  up,  much  more  amiable  for 
his  sleep. 

They  tried  to  find  the  woodchuck,  but  lost 
their  way,  and  wandered  deeper  into  the  great 
forest  till  they  came  to  a  rocky  place  and  could 
go  no  farther.  They  climbed  up  and  tumbled 
down,  turned  back  and  went  round,  looked  at 
the  sun  and  knew  it  was  late,  chewed  sassafras 


42  HOW   THEY  RAN  AWAY 

bark  and  checkerbeny  leaves  for  supper,  and 
grew  more  and  more  worried  and  tired  as  hour 
after  hour  went  by  and  they  saw  no  end  to 
woods  and  rocks.  Once  or  twice  they  heard 
the  hunter's  gun  far  away,  and  called  and  tried 
to  find  him. 

Tommy  scolded  Billy  for  not  going  with  the 
man,  who  knew  his  way  and  was  probably  safe 
in  the  valley  when  the  last  faint  shot  came  up 
to  them.  Billy  cried,  and  reproached  Tommy 
for  proposing  to  run  away ;  and  both  felt  very 
homesick  for  their  mothers  and  their  good  safe 
beds  at  Farmer  Mullin's. 

The  sun  set,  and  found  them  in  a  dreary  place 
full  of  rocks  and  blasted  trees  half-way  up  the 
mountain.  They  were  so  tired  they  could  hardly 
walk,  and  longed  to  lie  down  anywhere  to  sleep ; 
but,  remembering  the  hunter's  story  of  the  bear, 
they  were  afraid  to  do  it,  till  Tommy  suggested 
climbing  a  tree,  after  making  a  fire  at  the  foot 
of  it  to  scare  away  the  bear,  lest  he  climb  too 
and  get  them. 

But,  alas !  the  matches  were  left  in  their  first 
camp ;  so  they  decided  to  take  turns  to  sleep 
and  watch,  since  it  was  plain  that  they  must 
spend  the  night  there.  Billy  went  up  first,  and 
creeping  into  a  good  notch  of  the  bare  tree  tried 


HOW   THEY  RAN  AWAY  43 

to  sleep,  while  brave  Tommy,  armed  with  a  big 
stick,  marched  to  and  fro  below.  Every  few 
minutes  a  trembling  voice  would  call  from 
above,  "  Is  anything  coming?"  and  an  anxious 
voice  would  answer  from  below,  "  Not  yet. 
Hurry  up  and  go  to  sleep !  I  want  my  turn." 

At  last  Billy  began  to  snore,  and  then  Tommy 
felt  so  lonely  he  could  n't  bear  it ;  so  he  climbed 
to  a  lower  branch,  and  sat  nodding  and  trying 
to  keep  watch,  till  he  too  fell  fast  asleep,  and 
the  early  moon  saw  the  poor  boys  roosting  there 
like  two  little  owls. 

A  loud  cry,  a  scrambling  overhead,  and  then 
a  great  shaking  and  howling  waked  Tommy  so 
suddenly  that  he  lost  his  wits  for  a  moment  and 
did  not  know  where  he  was. 

"  The  bear  !  the  bear  !  don't  let  him  get  me  ! 
Tommy,  Tommy,  come  and  make  him  let  go," 
cried  Billy,  filling  the  quiet  night  with  dismal 
howls. 

Tommy  looked  up,  expecting  to  behold  a  large 
bear  eating  his  unhappy  friend  ;  but  the  moon 
light  showed  him  nothing  but  poor  Billy  dan 
gling  from  a  bough,  high  above  the  ground, 
caught  by  his  belt  when  he  fell.  He  had  been 
dreaming  of  bears,  and  rolled  off  his  perch  ;  so 
there  he  hung,  kicking  and  wailing,  half  awake, 


44  HOW    THEY  RAN  AWAY 

and  so  scared  it  was  long  before  Tommy  could 
make  him  believe  that  he  was  quite  safe. 

How  to  get  him  down  was  the  next  question. 
The  branch  was  not  strong  enough  to  bear 
Tommy,  though  he  climbed  up  and  tried  to 
unhook  poor  Billy.  The  belt  was  firmly  twisted 
at  the  back,  and  Billy  could  not  reach  to  undo 
it,  nor  could  he  get  his  legs  round  the  branch 
to  pull  himself  up.  There  seemed  no  way  but 
to  unbuckle  the  belt  and  drop.  That  he  was 
afraid  to  try ;  for  the  ground  was  hard,  and 
the  fall  a  high  one.  Fortunately  both  belt  and 
buckle  were  strong ;  so  he  hung  safely,  though 
very  uncomfortably,  while  Tommy  racked  his 
boyish  brain  to  find  a  way  to  help  him. 

Billy  had  just  declared  that  he  should  be  cut 
in  two  very  soon  if  something  was  not  done  for 
him,  and  Tommy  was  in  despair,  when  they 
thought  they  heard  a  far-off  shout,  and  both 
answered  it  till  their  throats  were  nearly  split 
with  screaming. 

"  I  seem  to  see  a  light  moving  round  down 
that  way,"  cried  Billy  from  his  hook,  pointing 
toward  the  valley. 

"  They  are  looking  for  us,  but  they  won't  hear 
us.  I  '11  run  and  holler  louder,  and  bring  'em 
up  here,"  answered  Tommy,  glad  to  do  any- 


HOW   THEY  RAN  AWAY  45 

thing  that  would  put  an  end  to  this  dreadful 
state  of  things. 

"  Don't  leave  me  !  I  may  fall  and  be  killed  ! 
The  bear  might  come  !  Don't  go  !  don't  go  !  " 
wailed  Billy,  longing  to  drop,  but  afraid. 

"  I  won't  go  far,  and  I  '11  come  back  as  quick 
as  I  can.  You  are  safe  up  there.  Hold  on,  and 
we  '11  soon  get  you  down,"  answered  Tommy, 
rushing  away  helter-skelter,  never  minding  where 
he  went,  and  too  much  excited  to  care  for  any 
damage. 

The  moon  was  bright  on  the  blasted  trees ; 
but  when  he  came  down  among  the  green  pines, 
it  grew  dark,  arid  he  often  stumbled  and  fell. 
Never  minding  bumps  and  bruises,  he  scrambled 
over  rocks,  leaped  fallen  trunks,  floundered 
through  brooks,  and  climbed  down  steep  places, 
till,  with  a  reckless  jump,  he  went  heels  over 
head  into  a  deep  hole,  and  lay  there  for  a  mo 
ment  stunned  by  the  fall.  It  was  an  old  bear- 
trap,  long  unused,  and  fortunately  well  carpeted 
with  dead  leaves,  or  poor  Tommy  would  have 
broken  his  bones. 

When  he  came  to  himself  he  was  so  used  up 
that  he  lay  still  for  some  time  in  a  sort  of  daze, 
too  tired  to  know  or  care  about  anything,  only 
dimly  conscious  that  somebody  was  lost  in  a 


46  HOW   THEY  RAN  AWAY 

tree  or  a  well,  and  that,  on  the  whole,  running 
away  was  not  all  fun. 

By  and  by  the  sound  of  a  gun  roused  him ; 
and  remembering  poor  Billy,  he  tried  to  get  out 
of  the  pit,  —  for  the  moon  showed  him  where 
he  was.  But  it  was  too  deep,  and  he  was  too 
stiff  with  weariness  and  the  fall  to  be  very 
nimble.  So  lie  shouted,  and  whistled,  and 
raged  about  very  like  a  little  bear  caught  in 
the  pit. 

It  is  very  difficult  to  find  a  lost  person  on  these 
great  mountains,  and  many  wander  for  hours  not 
far  from  help,  bewildered  by  the  thick  woods, 
the  deep  ravines,  and  precipices  which  shut  them 
in.  Some  have  lost  their  lives  ;  and  as  Tommy 
lay  on  the  leaves  used  up  by  his  various  struggles, 
he  thought  of  all  the  stories  he  had  lately  heard 
at  the  farm,  and  began  to  wonder  how  it  would 
feel  to  starve  to  death  down  there,  and  to  wish 
poor  Billy  could  come  to  share  his  prison,  that 
they  might  die  together,  like  the  Babes  in  the 
Wood,  or  better  still  the  Boy  Scouts  lost  on  the 
prairies  in  that  thrilling  story, "  Bill  Boomerang, 
the  Wild  Hunter  of  the  West." 

"  I  guess  mother  is  worried  this  time,  because 
I  never  stayed  out  all  night  before,  and  I  never 
will  again  without  leave.  It's  rather  good  fun, 


HOW   THEY  RAN  AWAY  47 

though,  if  they  only  find  me.  I  ain't  afraid,  and 
it  is  n't  very  cold.  I  always  wanted  to  sleep  out, 
and  now  I'm  doing  it.  Wish  poor  Billy  was 
safely  down  and  in  this  good  bed  with  me. 
Won't  he  be  scared  all  alone  there  ?  Maybe  the 
belt  will  break  and  he  get  hurt  bumping  down. 
Sorry  now  I  left  him,  he's  such  a  'f  raid-cat. 
There  's  the  gun  again !  Guess  it 's  that  man 
after  us.  Hi !  hollo  !  Here  I  am !  Whoop  ! 
Hurrah  !  Hi !  hi !  hi !  " 

Tommy's  meditations  ended  in  a  series  of 
yells  as  loud  as  his  shrill  little  voice  could  make 
them,  and  he  thought  some  one  answered.  But 
it  must  have  been  an  echo,  for  no  one  came  ;  and 
after  another  rampage  round  his  prison,  the  poor 
boy  nestled  down  among  the  leaves,  and  went 
fast  asleep  because  there  was  nothing  else  to  do. 

So  there  they  were,  the  two  young  hunters, 
lost  at  midnight  on  the  mountain,  —  one  hanging 
like  an  apple  on  the  old  tree,  and  the  other  sound 
asleep  in  a  bear-pit.  Their  distracted  mothers 
meantime  were  weeping  and  wringing  their  hands 
at  the  farm,  while  all  the  men  in  the  neighbor 
hood  were  out  looking  for  the  lost  boys.  The 
hunter  on  his  return  to  the  hotel  had  reported 
meeting  the  runaways  and  his  effort  to  send 
them  home  in  good  season ;  so  people  knew 


48  HOW   THEY  RAN  AWAY 

where  to  look,  and,  led  by  the  man  and  dog,  up 
the  mountain  went  Mr.  Mullin  with  his  troop. 
It  was  a  mild  night,  and  the  moon  shone  high  and 
clear;  so  the  hunt  was,  on  the  whole,  rather  easy 
and  pleasant  at  first,  and  lanterns  flashed  through 
the  dark  forest  like  fireflies,  the  lonely  cliffs 
seemed  alive  with  men,  and  voices  echoed  in 
places  where  usually  only  the  brooks  babbled  and 
the  hawks  screamed.  But  as  time  went  on,  and 
no  sign  of  the  boys  appeared,  the  men  grew 
anxious,  and  began  to  fear  some  serious  harm 
had  come  to  the  runaways. 

"  I  can't  go  home  without  them  little  shavers 
no  way,  'specially  Tommy,"  said  Mr.  Mullin,  as 
they  stopped  to  rest  after  a  hard  climb  through 
the  blasted  grove.  "  He  's  a  boy  after  my  own 
heart,  spry  as  a  chipmunk,  smart  as  a  young 
cockerel,  and  as  full  of  mischief  as  a  monkey. 
He  ain't  afraid  of  anything,  and  I  should  n't  be 
a  mite  surprised  to  find  him  enjoyin'  himself 
first-rate,  and  as  cool  as  a  coocumber." 

"  The  fat  boy  won't  take  it  so  easily,  I  fancy. 
If  it  had  n't  been  for  him  I  'd  have  kept  the 
lively  fellow  with  me,  and  shown  him  how  to 
hunt.  Sorry  now  I  didn't  take  them  both 
home,"  said  the  man  with  the  gun,  seeing  his 
mistake  too  late,  as  people  often  do. 


HOW  THEY  RAN  AWAY  49 

"  Maybe  they  Ve  fell  down  a  precipice  and 
got  killed,  like  Moses  Warner,  when  he  was 
lost,"  suggested  a  tall  fellow,  who  had  shouted 
himself  hoarse. 

"  Hush  up,  and  come  on !  The  dog  is  barkin' 
yonder,  and  he  may  have  found  'em,"  said  the 
farmer,  hurrying  toward  the  place  where  the 
hound  was  baying  at  something  in  a  tree. 

It  was  poor  Billy,  hanging  there  still,  half 
unconscious  with  weariness  and  fear.  The  belt 
had  slipped  up  under  his  arms,  so  he  could 
breathe  easily  ;  and  there  he  was,  looking  like 
a  queer  sort  of  cone  on  the  blasted  pine. 

"  Wai,  I  never!"  exclaimed  the  farmer,  as 
the  tall  lad  climbed  up,  and,  unhooking  Billy, 
handed  him  down  like  a  young  bird,  into  the 
arms  held  up  to  catch  him. 

"  He 's  all  right,  only  scared  out  of  his  wits. 
Come  along  and  look  for  the  other  one.  I  '11 
warrant  he  went  for  help,  and  may  be  half-way 
home  by  this  time,"  said  the  hunter,  who  did  n't 
take  much  interest  in  the  fat  boy. 

Tommy's  hat  lay  on  the  ground  ;  and  showing 
it  to  the  dog,  his  master  told  him  to  find  the 
boy.  The  good  hound  sniffed  about,  and  then 
set  off  with  his  nose  to  the  ground,  following 
the  zigzag  track  Tommy  had  taken  in  his  hurry. 


50  HOW  THE?  MAN  AWAY 

The  hunter  and  several  of  the  men  went  after 
him,  leaving  the  farmer  with  the  others  to  take 
care  of  Billy. 

Presently  the  dog  came  to  the  bear-pit,  and 
began  to  bark  again. 

"  He 's  got  him  ! "  cried  the  men,  much  re 
lieved  ;  and  rushing  on  soon  saw  the  good  beast 
looking  down  at  a  little  white  object  in  one 
corner  of  the  dark  hole. 

It  was  Tommy's  face  in  the  moonlight,  for  the 
rest  of  him  was  covered  up  with  leaves.  The 
little  round  face  seemed  very  quiet ;  and  for  a 
moment  the  men  stood  quite  still,  fearing  that 
the  fall  might  have  done  the  boy  some  harm. 
Then  the  hunter  leaped  down,  and  gently 
touched  the  brown  cheek.  It  was  warm,  and 
a  soft  snore  from  the  pug  nose  made  the  man 
call  out,  much,  relieved, — 

"  He  's  all  right.  Wake  up  here,  little  chap  ; 
you  are  wanted  at  home.  Had  hunting  enough 
for  this  time  ?  " 

As  he  spoke,  Tommy  opened  his  eyes,  gave 
a  stretch,  and  said,  "  Hollo,  Billy,"  as  calmly  as 
if  in  his  own  bed  at  home.  Then  the  rustle  of 
the  leaves,  the  moonlight  in  his  face,  and  the 
sight  of  several  men  staring  down  at  him  startled 
him  wide  awake. 


HOW  THEY  RAN  AWAY  51 

"  Did  you  shoot  the  big  bear  ? "  ,  he, ,  asked, 
looking  up  at  the  luinteif  wftfr'#  .grinV 

"  No;  but  I  caught, a  little/ oiie,; 'aflxl;  hese  he 
is,"  answered  the  man,  giving  Tommy  a  roll  in 
the  leaves,  much  pleased  because  he  did  not 
whine  or  make  a  fuss. 

"  Got  lost,  did  n't  we  ?  Oh,  I  say,  where  's 
Billy  ?  I  left  him  up  a  tree  like  a  coon,  and  he 
would  n't  come  down,"  laughed  Tommy,  kicking 
off  his  brown  bed-clothes,  and  quite  ready  to 
get  up  now. 

They  all  laughed  with  him  ;  and  presently, 
when  the  story  was  told,  they  pulled  the  boy 
out  of  the  pit,  and  went  back  to  join  the  other 
wanderer,  who  was  now  sitting  up  eating  the 
bread  and  butter  Mrs.  Mullin  sent  for  their  very 
late  supper. 

The  men  roared  again,  as  the  two  boys  told 
their  various  tribulations ;  and  when  they  had 
been  refreshed,  the  party  started  for  home, 
blowing  the  tin  horns,  and  firing  shot  after  shot 
to  let  the  scattered  searchers  know  that  the  lost 
children  were  found.  Billy  was  very  quiet,  and 
gladly  rode  on  the  various  broad  backs  offered 
for  his  use  ;  but  Tommy  stoutly  refused  to  be 
carried,  and  with  an  occasional  "  boost "  over  a 
very  rough  place,  walked  all  the  way  down  on 


52  HOW  THEY  RAN  AWAY 

his  own  sturdy  legs.  He  was  the  hero  of  the 
adventure^and  was. :never  tired  of  relating  how 
he  p'atightr  $>e  -yropdchuck,  cooked  the  fish,  slid 
down  the  big  rock,  and  went  to  bed  in  the  old 
bear-pit.  But  in  his  own  little  mind  he  resolved 
to  wait  till  he  was  older  before  he  tried  to  be  a 
hunter ;  and  though  he  caught  several  wood- 
chucks  that  summer,  he  never  shot  another 
harmless  little  bird. 


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